Death by Gondola by Jennifer S. Alderson

Item: Death by Gondola
Rating: 4
Author: BaronessMom

Posted February 12, 2023 by BaronessMom in #SpringReadsWithTheBaroness, Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Death by Gondola

by Jennifer S. Alderson

Series: Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series #8
Series Rating:

Published by Traveling Life Press on April 8, 2022
Genres: Cozy Traveling Mystery
Pages: 208
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
Goodreads
BookBub
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Death on the Danube: A New Year’s Murder in Budapest , Death by Baguette, Death by Windmill , Death by Leprechaun, Death by Puffin, Death by Bagpipes, Death by Fountain, Death by Flamenco

Venice — the city of canals, masks … and murder?

Tour guide Lana Hansen is having the time of her life leading a Carnevale-themed trip in Venice, Italy. Her merry group loves exploring the city’s rich artistic and cultural heritage together, as well as sampling the sumptuous cuisine the island city is famous for.

Their invitation to a masquerade ball, complete with historical costumes and fancy masks, should be the culmination of a perfect week. Yet when the guest of honor is bludgeoned to death, all eyes are on the partygoers—including Lana and her group! Was it an environmental protester, a corporate rival, or a disgruntled business associate that did him in? Or could someone have another reason to want the cruise ship executive dead?

Things go from bad to worse when Lana’s boyfriend, Alex, unexpectedly knocks on her hotel room door and shares a shocking secret—one that gets him arrested for murder! Can Lana sleuth out the real killer’s identity before her partner’s visit to the Floating City becomes permanent?

The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are heartwarming stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that often turn deadly.

Death by Gondola by Jennifer S. Alderson is where Lana loses her faith in love, but she seems to be stepping back from investigating.

Can Lana prove Alex is innocent?

Lana Hanson is in Venice, Italy, with her Wanderlust tour group and the newest company guide. The members of her group are all wealthy individuals, with most of them tied to a local shipping company Sail Away. They are enjoying the sights of Venice. They all attend a carnival masquerade ball where the CEO of Sail Away is murdered. Matteo Conti is not nice, but did he deserve to die like that?

Lana is caught in the middle as her boyfriend, unbeknownst to her, is a member of an environmental activist group that attacked Sail Away headquarters during the last hours of the ball. She is completely thrown off balance because of Alex’s lies. She doesn’t understand why he is lying to her, yet, she knows he would never kill anyone.

This seems like this may be the end of Lana’s career. Will Dotty allow her to continue guiding tours when her clients keep killing others or are implicated in the demise of others?

I like Lana and understand her need to continue working as it keeps her mind off of Alex, his arrest, and their relationship. However, perhaps she should have let Alex figure out this problem.

The Mystery

Matteo Conti was your typical power welding jerk. He used his position with the company for his own gain and was a bully too. There are quite a few suspects, as Matteo ticked a few people off before and during the ball. However, Alex is still on the hook, so to speak, for the murder, as he was the one seen with blood on his hands.

Four Stars

My rating for Death by Gondola by Jennifer S. Alderson is four stars. The mystery is intriguing, but my favorite part of this book was the beautifully detailed sights that Lana witnessed. I recommend this series, but this one you may want to read in order as Lana’s story unfolded more in each one.

Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series

This series is available in KindleUnlimted.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Death by Gondola by Jennifer S. Alderson. Check out the other stops and giveaway if you have time.

Until the next time,

About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.

Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: